Hawkeyes on stage

Iowa answered coach Fran McCaffery’s questions about its toughness with an inspired win at Illinois during the weekend. Now there’s something even more important the Hawkeyes have to figure out. Are they still good enough to push for the Big Ten title? No. 17 Iowa (17-5, 6-3 Big Ten) hosts Ohio State (17-5, 4-5) today (4 p.m., ESPN) and No. 10 Michigan (16-5, 8-1) on Saturday. It’s a huge chance for the Hawkeyes to pull away from the muddled middle of the Big Ten and chase co-leaders Michigan and Michigan State. “If you look at who’s behind us and who’s in front of us, these are tough games that are coming up,” Iowa center Gabe Olaseni said. – AP